Astrology is the language of Planets that if understood, could guide us to understand our selves better. It does provide us with a tool that may be used to better ourselves with our free will without caring what the Future holds. There are rules to apply in astrology regarding the placement of Planets and their relationship with each other. Among these, an important feature is the Patterns that the Planets form in the Natal Charts as told by Marc Edmund Jones. These Patterns do tell us much about the direction in which the Native plans for his works and do give us a guidance relating to his inner self. Although Marc Edmund Jones described Seven Patterns to check in the chart yet I consider that even Six Basic Patterns in the Chart are able to convey about the character well. These of course are much the same as he had pointed out wisely but leaving “Locomotive” altogether and changing “Splay” to “Positive Distribution” and “Splash” to “Negative Distribution”. The Planets only must be considered for the Patterns and not the asteroids or planetoids except perhaps Chiron that denotes the modern ways in surgery and practice of healing methods without any regards to physical pain or any care for moral values. In fact when Chiron is near to Moon or Venus, it seems to denote in female nativities that she likes to take adopted morals in action rather than accepted good morals that are already in action in the society she lives in, so Chiron with the attention it is receiving in astrology, might be considered while detecting patterns. Let us see here what the Patterns mean to understand the Nativity better.

The Bundle Pattern is where all the Planets are situated in two or three consecutive signs. Such a chart shows limited interests. This person may become very self centered and sometimes selfish. However, ability to plan for utilizing available resources to their full use for material benefit is highly developed in these individuals though it is difficult for them to achieve fame. I have also seen that when five or more Planets are close together in the Natal Chart anywhere though other Planets stand far and Mars is adversely aspected by one or two of its outer Planets while Pluto aspects in a traditional manner at least four bodies in the natal chart being in square mostly to any of the planets in the natal chart, there is a criminal tendency present in the Native. I call this closeness of five or more planets that present itself in the charts of criminals as a Closet Pattern and with such configuration, Criminals mostly have Mutable signs much pronounced with Jupiter mostly well placed as I have written elsewhere with detail on the net.

The Bowl Pattern is where all the Planets are situated in one half of the Chart leaving the other half of the chart (180 Degrees) empty. This is the person that again is capable to plan well to achieve much material benefit from available resources but to a lesser extent than the Bundle Pattern. If the Bowl Pattern presents itself according to the natural distribution of the Chart or in other words, it clearly occupies the left half or right half or upper half or lower half of the wheel, this refines the quality of the Native to plan more efficiently to achieve more with less available resources. It also increases the ability to learn much from observation and experience and perhaps there is an inclination towards Mystery & Horror as Alfred Hitchcock and Dr. Robin Cook (the medical mystery writer) both have this Pattern.

The Bucket Pattern is where all the planets but one occupy one half of the chart i.e. 180 degrees. So it is a Bowl that has a handle in shape of the single planet at other side. The single planet that stands out alone at the other half must be at least 45 degree apart from the first or last planet of the Bowl. This gives a very fine imagination and understanding of the emotional side. It also increases the Belief that everything in the Universe is in order and there are laws that are operating in every field that may be understood by a good observation and persistence. The famous names that had this Pattern in their charts include many wonderful poets and novelists that wrote fiction well. Some of them that had this pattern well in their charts are Charles Dickens, Lewis Caroll, Enid Blyton (what a wonderful writer she was and I do remember reading her on & on in my childhood), Milton, Arnold Toynbee (presented nicely that History does have a meaning), Leo Tolstoy, Mark Twain and Agatha Christie. It is interesting to note that there are a few most famous fiction writers and poets who do have this Pattern somewhat incomplete. The examples for this are Shakespeare, William Wordsworth (taking Moon & Neptune Conjunction as one unit in his chart), Robert Browning, Shelley, Mozart and Jonathan Swift. These examples had two planets at the other half but not so near as to term them a handle together. Even with an incomplete presentation where 2 Planets are present, mostly disjointed at the other half, the imagination still works well. As a rule, fame comes easy with the Bucket Pattern of the Planets, for the worse or the better. Also, we do find many a great Scientists that were mostly related to the observation of the Heavenly Bodies or their work was of a great use in Astronomy, with this Pattern though those famous scientists who did not give much attention to the Planets in their work do not have much of this Pattern (Neils Bohr, Louis Pasteur and Edison had a Bowl Pattern). The famous persons having the Bucket Pattern include Tycho Brahe, Johannes Kepler (taking Moon & Neptune together), Galileo, Einstein, Neil Armstrong, William Harvey (seems that the circulation of blood is related to the circulation of Planets) and Doppler. However, two most famous names Isaac Newton and Copernicus do not conform to this Pattern.

The See Saw Pattern is where all the Planets form Two Pairs of Planets taking some two or three signs each, in Opposition to each other or most of the planets of both in opposition to each other. The Natives with this Pattern have divided ideas about many matters. It is difficult for them to decide well about a matter once and for all. The Natives with this Pattern must consciously try to keep to their commitment and/or decision, to break any of the adverse effect that such a presentation of Planets may pose for them.

The Distribution Pattern is where all the Planets are spread in such a way that they can not be confined to any of the Patterns that have been mentioned before. However a Distribution of Planets may be Positive or Negative according to the aspects in the Chart. On this basis, we get two patterns i.e. Positive Distribution and Negative Distribution and we must consider them separately. The Positive Distribution is where all the Planets are spread in such a way that all three easy aspects are represented in the Chart. This means that 30 degrees aspect (semi-sextile) allowing 2 degree orb among a couple of planets, 60 degrees aspect (sextile) among a couple allowing 6 degree orb and 120 degrees aspect (trine) among a couple allowing 8 degree orb must be present in the Chart. If semi-sextile or sextile is missing, a Grand Trine can make up well for that. This causes the Distribution to be harmonious and the planning power increases in different fields. Such a person can do many works at one time, managing some with great and others with considerable efficiency. This Pattern may present itself in persons who have a very good observation and like the Bucket, it shows a good understanding of the Laws of Nature though the Bucket Pattern is better in presenting them to all. The Positive Distribution is very good for the Politicians, Leaders and Spiritual Guides as it denotes good ability to deal with people.

The Negative Distribution is where all the Planets are spread in such a way that though the hard aspects form yet one of the three easy aspects specially Trine is missing among the Planets. Such a person again puts himself to many works yet due to weakness in planning may not manage most of them with quality. This Pattern presents itself in such persons who may feel frustrated in carrying out their tasks and their efforts may turn out to be fruitless being put into a wrong direction to achieve a desired goal.

The Patterns that Planets form are a guide for us to understand how much a person cares for efficiency in his work. With so much to learn, we must learn and go on learning for the sake of our own development and for the sake of betterment of our fellow beings. This attitude must remain intact without asking for any material benefits as luxuries, so that the world may become a better place to live in for us and for our coming generations.